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Because of a recently passed law, the state's minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour by 2018. But Bellaire-based Short's Brewing Co. decided not to wait, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.

"We just basically wanted to say we're OK with this, and we think it's a model that can work," Short's COO Matt Drake told the paper. Most Short's workers already made more than the current minimum of $7.40 an hour.

Laura Oblinger, COO of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, said the announcement could persuade other business owners in the area to increase wages. That was one reason Short's took the action. Drake said increasing wages shows other businesses that paying employees more than the minimum can be a good practice because investing in workers leads to success.

"If we treat our staff well, if we reward them well for their hard effort, we're going to cultivate a better staff and do better as a company," he said. "If you stick with this career path, it can literally be a career. It can be a great job."

Oblinger said of the wage increases: "You'd have to do it anyway, but when you go ahead and make that move in advance, it's more of a statement they make toward their employee relations."

Kalamazoo Promise adds private colleges to free-tuition program

The Kalamazoo Promise, an anonymously funded program that offers free college tuition to graduates of the Kalamazoo Public Schools, plans to expand from its current program covering 43 public colleges and universities in the state to 14 private colleges and universities starting in the fall of 2015, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.

The institutions, part of the Michigan Colleges Alliance, will pay the difference in costs between their tuition and what would be average undergraduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts. The colleges joining the program include Adrian, Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hillsdale, Hope, Kalamazoo, Marygrove, Olivet and Spring Arbor.

The original scholarship program, launched in 2006, has covered up to 100 percent of tuition and fees, depending on the number of years the student was in the district.

Varnum attorney Schneidewind named president-elect of AARP

Eric Schneidewind, an attorney at Grand Rapids-based Varnum LLP, was named president-elect of AARP, the national nonprofit that advocates for people age 50 and older. Schneidewind will serve in that role until 2016, when he will become president.

Schneidewind, who has practiced energy law in Varnum's Lansing office for 28 years, was president of AARP Michigan from 2006 to 2012 and began serving on the national board of AARP in 2012, Varnum said in a release.

Mich-cellaneous

• The national Manpower Employment Outlook Survey says West Michigan could become the nation's hottest job market this summer, MLive.com reported. The survey found that 32 percent of the employers interviewed in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming labor market said they intend to increase staffing in the third quarter, while 4 percent said they intended to cut back. Manpower also reported that Michigan's employment picture is the third-best in the nation after North Dakota and Delaware.

• A jury awarded $183,000 to Yolanda Larry, who claimed she was unfairly fired from Hurley Medical Center after accessing a family member's medical files, The Flint Journal reported. Larry said the Flint hospital should have used a discipline procedure outlined in its employee handbook. Hurley argued that Larry violated federal privacy rules.

• "Exported From Michigan," a 90-minute documentary about the state's economic comeback, premiered last week in Grand Rapids. The film received a grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

• Tuition and fees at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti are rising 3.2 percent in the coming academic year, The Associated Press reported. The increases keep the schools within a cap set by the state Legislature.

• Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health plans to spend $24.5 million to expand and renovate its Rehab and Nursing Center, the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported.

• WKW Roof Rail Systems, a German manufacturer of aluminum automotive parts, plans to bring 186 jobs to Battle Creek in a $23 million investment, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported. Battle Creek was chosen over sites in Alabama and one other state, the economic development agency Battle Creek Unlimited said in a news release.